A number of 2,800 hectares of new plantations appeared in Moldova this year. About 130 million lei was allocated from the state budget for setting them up. The head of the Agency for Payments and Intervention in Agriculture Petru Maleru said that assistance was offered to 430 farmers who planted orchards and 410 farmers who planted vineyards, IPN reports.
For the first time this year, there were planted more apple trees than plum trees – 1,390 hectares of apple trees as against 700 hectares of plum trees. The new walnut orchards occupied 530 hectares.
Also, there were planted more sorts of table grapes than of technical sorts. Petru Maleru said this is due to the fact that the authorities decided to provide by 25% larger subsidies for table grapes, which have a higher value added. There were also planted 22 hectares with ecological sorts of grapes. The subsidies for them are by 15% higher.
A sum of 500 million was earmarked for next year for providing subsidies in agriculture, plus the €4.6 million offered by the European partners. In 2014, the authorities will help more the animal-breeding sector, especially the farms of dairy cows.
